It's hard to go wrong with a Katherine Center book. Hutch is quite dreamy in this book and I'll be thinking about him for awhile yet...

For starters thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! This is going to be on everyone's list for summer I can tell.

Katie, the ex fiance of a *very* famous popstar, gets sent on assignment to Key West to make a promotional video for the US Coast Guard. This job happens to involve following around the older brother of her boss and leveraging that relationship to let her do her own video for her budding content career, which is much easier said than done. This work trip opens her eyes in so many ways and sometimes you do need to lose yourself to truly find yourself.

While that may be a poor attempt at a synopsis, I didn't want to give too much away! One of the major themes in this book is body image. If that annoys you or you don't relate, maybe just skim through but there's no reason for all of the hate on this. It's eye opening, it can be healing, it's relatable, and we see her conquer it which so few women do. I love this theme and think so many women, and men, can learn a lesson from it.

Aside from that, our MMC is basically Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian and if that doesn't sell you to read this, idk what else will.

Giving this 4 stars because Cole was so unbearable and even though Katie handled him well and he was written this way on purpose, I still had to skim through those pages to avoid wanting to scream at him. Which honestly should knock this up to 5 stars not down to 4 bc bravo on that emotion evoking writing.

Again, tysm St. Martins Press and Net Galley and I hope everyone adds this to their TBR!

I love Katherine Center. I love her books. I love her characters. and when you’re blessed with one of her arcs you drop everything to read it.

I loved The Love Haters. I think every woman will feel a personal connection with Katie and some of the struggles she’s working through in this book. And she’s also strong and funny and kind. Hutch is a softie and confident and it’s made known that he’s hot haha. And George Bailey is everything. I actually really loved their insta attraction, but didn’t love their main conflict. It’s hard when you know the conflict can be resolved by just asking one question, but I I will admit it added a lot of humor. I am also the prime audience for this type of story because I should have seen the ending coming a mile away and I did not consider it even once.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts!

i got the e-book of this but listen to audio of it . i don't have the willpower to finish this .i'm bored listening to this dnf at 33% i ust cant be brother to finish it.

So much to love about this one. I’ll be dreaming about Hutch all summer long. A few reviews worried me on excessive body image talk from the main character but I didn’t feel like it was too much. She’s gone through a lot and has growth in this story. I couldn’t get enough!

Katherine Center is one of my top favorite authors, yet I am still so surprised with just how very good Love Haters is. It is laugh out loud funny, genuinely insightful and charmingly romantic. My favorite book of 2024 so far!

This was such a fun novel. I loved the premise and enjoyed the tension between the main characters. Plus, there's a loving and goofy rescue dog, which really if you have any animal in the story I'm bound to warm to it quickly.
I also appreciated the aspects of adventure, the remote-to-me location (Key West is quite far from where I live) and the quirky cast of characters striving to pull our main characters out of their respective shells.
The perfect pairing for a beach day.

Such a fun book and I love some good banter! ❤️

If you need a good ole romance book this one will do the trick. Overall this was an easy read with a unique storyline that I really enjoyed! The two main characters had a lot of depth which made them both relatable in their own ways.

The only things keeping this from being a five star book for me was the crazy lying around 65% that just totally took me out of the storyline/ moment and I wanted a littttttttle bit more out of the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed and I am already itching to dive into another Katherine Center book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Another cute romance from Katherine Center. Thank you for the advanced chance to read this work from one of my favorite romance authors! I was obsessed

I'm always a sucker for a good love story, but I also love when there's an important underlying message, and that was the case with The Love Haters. When the main character, Katie, talked about her self-negativity and body image issues...yeah, I felt that. I saw myself in her so profoundly at times that it made me cry. (Especially the ending where she has the conversation with herself on the boat. Not going to give away any spoilers. I'll just say it made me sob). The hero, Tom (aka "Hutch") is something special too. I mean, he serves in the military as a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard, so he's like an ACTUAL hero. But, thankfully, he's not one of those alpha male heroes who think they're God's gift either. Hutch is kind, thoughtful, and humble, but he's also a fierce protector when it comes to the people he loves. So, honestly...how could you NOT love this man? The two of them together make such an endearing couple. I should add there are plenty of wonderful secondary characters too. Hutch's Aunt Rue is precious, and his dog, George Bailey - oh my goodness! Adorableness overload! I just wanted to crawl inside the story and snuggle with him.

I switched back and forth between listening to the audiobook version and reading the digital book version, and I enjoyed both of them. Patti Murin is an excellent narrator. And what can I say about my girl, Katherine Center? I just love her. She's a truly amazing writer, and it's such a joy to read her work. I always add her new releases to the top of my TBR list, and I highly recommend The Love Haters.

3.75⭐️ Katherine Center’s books have been hit or miss for me so I was hesitant to read this one as I am still chasing the love of Things You Save in a Fire and I will honestly say I really enjoyed this one! The setting (Key West) was so fun as someone who loves visiting the colorful town. I liked how she touched on harder themes and you could watch the characters grow. Some of the wilder storylines didn’t do it for me (Cole) and some of the time the FMC felt very naive in an annoying way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was looking forward to reading it every time I picked it up!

I didn’t love this one unfortunately! Katie and her self image focus for 45% of the beginning of the book was so off putting. I think the message could have been received in other ways, but the way it’s written makes Katie seem insufferable. As someone who lived in Florida and spent a few months in the Keys, I adored the setting. I never heard of anyone referencing A1A as the overseas highway, but for writing purposes I’m sure that sounds better than just calling it A1A.

As much as I love KC, this one didn’t really register with me between the characters and the plot.

Katie hates love. Hutch hates love. Therefore, it should be easy for them to work together and not fall in love, right?
Katherine Center is one of those authors where you can confidently grab any book and know it's going to be an enjoyable read. This is more than a cutesy love story. The main message in this book is about learning how to love yourself. I think everyone should read it and soak up the meaning.

Katherine Center is an auto read author for me and her newest book didn’t disappoint. This makes for a great spring and summer read as we follow our main character, Katie, to Key West to interview hero Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom Hutcheson. Woefully under qualified for the gig, Katie finds herself in over her head and having to tell lie after lie in an attempt to keep her job. In the midst of it all she finds herself falling for her interview subject, but can he forgive her once all the lies are revealed?

I thought there was so much depth to this story and I love all the layers the author builds into her side characters. The reason behind the personality traits of the brothers Tom and Cole was heartbreaking. The body image battle that Katie dealt with was relatable and one of my favorite parts of the story when at the end she had a complete moment of self love for her body and how it gets her through life.

Overall another fantastic read by a favorite author!

Another winner from Katherine Center! The set up for this one - video producer/filmmaker Katie is sent by her boss Cole to the Florida Keys to film a recruiting video for the Coast Guard featuring his brother Hutch. And with her job potentially on the line, Katie omits the important fact that she can’t swim. But between getting to know Hutch, his giant crazy dog, and his aunt Rue who takes Katie under her wing, Katie finds the job a lot more impactful than she expected.

I just love Katherine Center, she’s one of my most favorite rom com authors. Over and over while reading this one, I find myself thinking “this is so adorable,” while at the same time noting so many wonderful quotes in the book. There are great characters, great banter, but also deeper themes. And another winning author’s note about why reading romance is good for you and helps teach you self-love as well, another theme of this book!

I don’t usually read my ARCs this early, but for the third year in a row, the Read Spin Repeat Book Club has chosen an early read of Katherine’s upcoming release for our book club discussion. We love her and fondly remember zooming with her two years ago!

4.25 stars

The premise was interesting and I liked Hutch and Katie, but the middle part seem to lose me. I wasn't connected to the relationship as much. I thought the drama with Hutch and his brother was good. The ending was dramatic, but nice.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC for my honest review!

Katie is a video producer assigned to do a promotional US Coast Guard profile video on Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. The video was originally assigned to Katie's colleague, Cole, who happens to be Hutch's brother. But the two brothers do not get along, so down to the Florida Keys Katie goes for a career saving job where she will literally be surrounded by water... despite not being able to swim and having a phobia of bathing suits (and anything colorful).

I enjoyed the story, but I didn't totally connect with it like I have with some of Katherine Center's other books. Hutch is a stand up guy and a great MMC, but I struggled to understand the draw to Katie. She grew on me, but she was kind of a mess at the start!

There are some choices made that I really wasn't into, but other moments that had me literally laughing out loud or tearing up. It's a bit of a mixed bag for me, though overall I had fun reading the story and experiencing the vibrancy and color of the tropical setting.

💕: kissing, innuendo
⚠️: language, body image issues, online bullying, past loss of loved ones

4.5

Okay...so I loved this. I consumed it (in Florida on vacation and it was perfect!) and I loved the setting in the Keys. I also love how well Katherine explained and brought attention to the coast guard and I have a whole new level of respect for them. Then, the main character Katie suffers from body image issues and I loved that the book follows her overcoming it and learning to love herself and that everyone is beautiful. I adored Katie's character and that she put Hutch's wishes above her own when it could literally save her job. And Hutch....oh man I LOVE HIM. He was charming and he literally jumps out of helicopters to save people. GREEN FLAG. Also George Bailey? Perfection. Rue? I loved her.
All I know is I want more. I need more Katie and Hutch.

Thank you Netgalley, Katherine Center and St. Martins Press for the ARC copy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Catherine Center for allowing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's always such an honor to read an ARC of Center's works. I admit, that I am a total fangirl. This was no different. I couldn't put this book down. It has all the elements one would expect from Center -- funny characters with so much depth, serious subjects (grieving, body image, illness, guilt, expectations), love with a guaranteed HEA, and of course joy! The heavy topics in this novel were treated with care and respect and well balanced with the silliness of so many of the situations and the humor of the characters. Katie and Hutch are absolutely lovable and all of the secondary characters are wonderful. I sometimes cringe when we have too many side characters but this was perfectly well done. Loved the whole story!

This is not the first Katherine Center book I’ve read. I’ve loved all the books I’ve read from her so far!
This book is about a video producer who can’t swim Katie and “Hutch” a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, original “love hater”, according to his brother Cole, (who is Katie’s supervisor), and their real and perceived issues that they need to overcome in an easy to imagine, beautiful Key West setting. Katherine Center’s books usually follow the same trope of a rom-com, but what makes hers so different are the issues the characters tackle and the sheer amount of research she puts in to be true to life and give the characters such a great depth that you don’t always find in these types of novels. The characters are all real and relatable, and the story moves smoothly. This novel was a quick, easy, light-hearted read.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.